Traveling stitching head

ABSTRACT

A machine is disclosed for performing an operation on a work piece passing therethrough with the machine including a work surface for supporting the work piece as it passes through the machine, advancing means for advancing the work piece in a first direction of travel through the machine, work application means for performing the operation on the work piece, and moving means spaced from the work surface for selectively moving the work application means in a second direction transverse to the first direction of travel; with the moving means comprising: a guide rail supported above the work surface; first and second guide strips secured to the guide rail on opposite sides thereof; a traveling support member, the application means being carried by the traveling support member, with the traveling support member including first and second bearing pads secured on the inner surface of the side walls thereof which are guidingly engaged by the first and second guide strips respectively, and driving means for causing the support member to travel along the guide rail. The bearing pads include a lip portion which engages an undersurface of a respective guide strip thereby preventing the support member from lifting, which is especially important during operation of the work application means. Further, a third guide strip is secured to the top surface of the guide rail, and bearing means are secured to the support member for cooperation with the third guide strip. The bearing means includes a pair of bearing blocks secured to the undersurface of the top wall of the support member and an elongated bearing rotatably supported at its ends in the bearing blocks, with the bearing rolling along the third guide strip as the support member travels along the guide rail. The bearing includes a pair of larger diametered flanges spaced apart by a distance corresponding to the width of the third guide strip whereby lateral movement of the support member is prevented. Preferably, all of the guide strips, and the bearing blocks are removably secured to their respective members to permit replacement.

United States Patent [191 I Little [451 July 24, 1973 TRAVELINGSTITCHING HEAD [75] Inventor: Stanley Little, Cockeysville, Md.

[73] Assignee: l recision Industries, Inc.,Baltimore,

[22] Filed: Oct. 18, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 189,927

[52] US. Cl. 227/99 [51] Int. Cl...' B27f 7/16 [58] Field of Search227/7, 99, 100, 149

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,523,633 8/1970 -Wilson...i227/7 38,924 6/1863 Wicke 227/149 2,240,516 5/1941 Paxton.... 227/149Primary Examiner-Granville Y. Custer, Jr. Att0mey-Lawrence l. Lerner etal.

[57] ABSTRACT tion transverse to the first direction of travel; with themoving means comprising: a guide rail supported above the work surface;first and second guide strips secured to the guide rail on oppositesides thereof; a traveling support member, the application means beingcarried by the traveling support member, with the traveling supportmember including first and second bearing pads secured on the innersurface of the side walls thereof which are guidingly engaged by thefirst and second guide strips respectively, and driving means forcausing the support member to travel along the guide rail. The bearingpads include a lip portion which engages an undersurface of a respectiveguide strip thereby preventing the support member from lifting, which isespecially important during operation of the work application means.Further, a third guide strip is secured to the top surface of the guiderail, and bearing means are secured to'the support member forcooperation with the third guide strip. The bearing means iricludes apair of bearing blocks secured to the undersurface of the top wall ofthe support member and an elongated bearing rotatably supported at itsends in the bearing blocks, with the bearing rolling along the thirdguide strip as the support member travels along the guide rail. Thebearing includes a pair of larger diametered flanges spaced apart by adistance corresponding to the width of the third guide strip wherebylateral movement of the support member is prevented. Preferably, all ofthe guide strips, and the bearing blocks are removably secured to theirrespective members to permit replacement.

7 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures TRAVELING STITCIIING HEAD FIELD OF THEINVENTION This invention relates to stitching machines and moreparticularly to improvements in stitching machines which includetraveling stitching heads.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In US. Pat. application Ser. No. 172,834filed Aug. l8, l97l, in the name of Lauri C. Barland, entitledImprovements in Stitching Machines and assigned to the assignee of theinstant invention, there is disclosed stitching machinery in which thestitching head thereof is selectively movable in a direction transverseto the direction of feed of the folded box blank through the machine. Asshown in the aforementioned application, the .stitching head is carriedby a traveling support member which saddles a guide rail positionedabove the work surface of the machine. The support member carries aplurality of rollers which rotatably engage the guide rail as thesupport member travels along the guide rail in response to rotation of alead screw.

Although the principles of operation of the aforementioned stitchingmachine are generally satisfactory, a number of problems have evolvedtherewith which the instantinvention effectively eliminates.

Specifically, it has been found that there is a tendency of thetraveling support member of the aforedescribed stitching machine to liftfrom the guide rail it saddles, especially during operation of thestitching head (when downwardly moving stitch forming and driving meanswill create reverse thrust). Similarly, because of the loosenessassociated with the rollers carried by the support member, there is anatural tendency of the traveling support member to shift laterally withrespect to its intended straight path of travel along the guide rail.Obviously, these unintended deviations in the movement of the stitchinghead support member can cause serious deviations from the desiredtolerances of the machinery and the stitches ultimately producedthereby.

Another problem associated with the aforedescribed machinery relates tothe fact that the rollers carried by the stitching head support memberdirectly engage the guide rail supported above the work surface of themachine. As a consequence thereof, and in order to maintain desiredtolerances, the entire guide rail must be as perfectly a machinedstructure as possible. Of course, machining the rather large guide railis an'extremely time consuming, complex and expensive operation.

Moreover, it has been found that the hardened rollers carried by thestitching head support member tend to dig" into the machined guide rail,especially if the stitching head is operated for long periods of time atany one position along the guide rail. Obviously, replacement of theguide rail is an expensive proposition.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The instant invention eliminates all of theaforedescribed problems in a most simple and expeditious manner.Specifically, the guide rail of the instant invention is provided with aplurality of metallic guide strips, two disposed on the opposite sidesof the guide rail, and one disposed along the top surface thereof.Secured on the inner surfaces of the side walls of the stitching headsupport member which saddles the guide rail are a pair of elongatedbearing pads which are guidingly engaged by the first and second guidestrips as the support member travels along the guide rail. The bearingpads include a lip portion which engages an undersurface of a respectiveguide rail thereby preventing the support member from lifting. Securedto the inner surface of the top wall of the traveling support member isa hearing arrangement which rollingly engages the third guide stripsecured on the top surface of the guide rail. The bearing arrangementincludes a pair of bearing blocks which rotatably carries an elongatedcylindrical bearing having a pair of larger diametered flanges spacedapart by a distance corresponding to the width of the third guide rail.In this manner, unintentional lateral motion of the stitching headsupport member is prevented.

The net result of the aforedescribed arrangement is that the stitchinghead support member is totally trapped on the guide rail and preventedfrom lifting therefrom or laterally moving with respect thereto.

As a particularly advantageous feature of the instant invention, theaforementioned guide stirps are all removably secured to the guide rail.Accordingly, should a bearing surface become damaged, the particularguide strip affected can be removed, thrown away, and replaced while therelatively expensive guide rails remains unaffected. In this vain, itshould be pointed out that since, in the instant invention, all bearingsurfaces are established by the aforementioned guide strips, the basicguide rail can remain unmachined thereby materially reducing the costthereof.

As a further feature of the invention, the bearing blocks which aresecured to the stitching head support member and which rotatably carrythe flanged bearing that travels along the third guide strip, as well asthe bearing pads, are all removably secured to the respective innersurfaces of the stitching head support member. In this manner, adefective bearing surface can be replaced without having to replace theentire support structure upon which the stitching head is secured.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF 'THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is aperspective view of a stitching machine constructed in accordance withthe instant invention.

FIG. 2 is a view partly in section taken along the lines 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlargement of an alternative embodiment of a portion ofthe apparatus shown in FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Turning to the drawings, there is illustrated inFIG. 1 a stitching machine designated 10. Broadly speaking, the machine10 includes a work surface or table 12 upon which a box blank (notshown) is supported as it passed through the machine 10. To advance thebox blank there is provided a pair of pull rollers 14 and 16 carried bya pull roll shaft 18 journaled for rotation in upstanding portions ofthe machine frame 20 and driven by appropriate driving mechanism notshown.

Positioned above the work surface 12 in a manner to be further describedis a stitching head 22, which in a maner well known the art, appliesconsecutive wire stitches to the overlapping portions of the box blankas the box blank is advanced through the machine in response to rotationof the pull rollers 14 and 16. Since the stitching head per se forms nopart of the instant invention, a detailed description is not providedherein, it being understood that any conventional stitching head may beemployed in the practice of the instant invention. Alternatively, thestitching head 22 may be of the type described and claimed in U.S. Pat.appln. Ser. No. 37,190 filed May 14, 1970 in the name of Lauri C.Barland, entitled Stitching Head Apparatus and assigned to the assigneeof the instant invention and now U.S. Pat. No. 3,642,187. Also, itshould be noted, that although the invention is specifically describedin the environment of a wire stitching machine for applying wirestitches to a corrogated box blank, the principals hereof are applicableto any machine in which a work piece is advanced past a work stationwhere some work application means performs an operation thereon.

Positioned above the work surface 12, and carried by the frame 20, is aguide rail 34 which carries a support member or trolley 36 which ridesor travels along the guide rail 34 in response to rotation of a threadedlead screw 38 which is selectively rotated by an electric motor 40. Thesupport member 36 carries the stitching head 22, and thus the stitchinghead 22 can be selectively positioned along the work surface 12 in adirection transverse to the direction of feed of the box blank throughthe machine 10.

As thus far described, the stitching machine is similar to the stitchingmachine described in the first mentioned Barland application, thedisclosure of which is incorporated herein by specific referencethereto. As noted previously, in the stitching machine of the firstmentioned Barland application, the support member or trolley 36 carriesa plurality of rollers which engage the guide rail 34. It is in themanner of supporting the trolley 36 with respect to the guide rail 34,that the instant invention presents significant advantages over themachinery described in the first mentioned application, and suchimprovements will now be described in greater detail.

As best seen in FIG. 2, the support member 36 is in the form of agenerally inverted U-shaped member which surrounds the guide rail 34 andincludes a pair of side walls 37, 39 and a top wall 41. Removablysecured to the inner surface 42 of the wall 37 is an elongated generallyL-shaped bearing pad 44. Similarly, secured to the inner surface 46 ofthe wall 39 is an elongated generally L-shaped bearing pad 48. Thebearing pads 44 and 48 are preferably of bronze; extend in length forthe entire length of the support member 36; and are removably secured totheir respective inner surfaces 42, 46 by screw threaded fasteners, notshown. As best seen in FIG. 2, each of the bearing pads includes a lipportion 50 and 52 respectively which engages the undersurface 54 and 56of respective elongated metallic guide strips 58, 60 secured on oppositesides 62 and 64 of the guide rail 34. A third guide strip 66 is securedon the upper surface 68 of the guide rail 34. The guide rails 58, 60 and66 are removably se cured to the guide rail 34 by screw threadedfasteners generally indicated at 70.

Removably secured to the undersurface 72 of the top wall 41 of thesupport member 36 are a pair of bearing blocks 74, 76 which house ballbearing structures generally indicated at 78 and 80. Rotatably supportedby the ball bearings 78 and 80 is an elongated cylindrical bearing 82 acentral portion 84 ofwhich rolls in engagement with the third guidestrip 66 as the support member 36 travels along the guide rail 34 inresponse to the rotation of the lead screw 38. The elongated bearing 82includes a pair of larger diametered flanges 86 and 88 which are spacedapart by a distance corre- 5 sponding to the width of the guide strip66.

From the above, a number of advantages of the instant invention shouldnow become apparent. Specifically, the engagement of the lip portions 50and 52 with the undersurface of the guide rails 58 and 60 prevent thesupport member 36 from being lifted with respect to the guide rail 34.This is especially important because of the upward thrust generated whenthe stitching head 22 is stitching box blanks therebeneath. Also, thespaced apart flanges 86 and 88 on the bearing 82 cause the supportmember 36 to exactly follow the track established by the third guidestrip 66. Accordingly, any tendency of the support member 36 to shiftlaterally is completely avoided. All in all, the arrangement describedeffectively traps the guide member 36 and requires that it exactlyfollow the guide rail 34. However, and as an advantage of the instantinvention, since support member 36 does not actually engage the guiderail 34, the guide rail need not be expensively machined for closetolerances.

As noted before, elements such as the guide strips 58, 60 and 66, thebearing blocks 74 and 76, and the bearing pads 44 and 48 are allremovably secured to their respective members. Accordingly, should abearing surface, become damaged, only the damaged element (be it astrip, pad, or bearing block) need be replaced while all the relativelyexpensive parts of the mechanism such as the guide rail 34 and thesupport member 36 can be retained.

In FIG. 3 there is illustrated an alternative embodiment of the instantinvention wherein the lip portion 52 of the bearing pad 48' and theundersurface 56' of the guide strip 60' are of complementary angledconfiguration as opposed to the rectangular configuration illustrated inFIG. 2.

Although this invention has been described with respect to its preferredembodiments, it should be understood that many variations andmodifications will now be obvious to those skilled in the art, and it ispreferred therefore, that the scope of the invention be limited not bythe specific disclosure herein, only by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A machine for performing an operation on a work piece passingtherethrough, said machine comprising:

a work surface for supporting said work piece as it passes through saidmachine;

advancing means for advancing said work piece in a first direction oftravel through said machine;

work application means for performing said operation on said work piece;and

moving means spaced from said work surface for selectively moving saidwork application means in a second direction transverse to said firstdirection of travel;

said moving means comprising:

a guide rail supported above said work surface;

first and second guide strips secured to said guide rail on oppositesides thereof;

a traveling support member, said work application means carried by saidsupport member, said support member including first and second bearingpads secured thereto which are guidingly engaged by said first andsecond guide strips respectively; and

driving means for causing said support member to travel along said guiderail; and further including a third guide strip secured to said guiderail along a top surface thereof; said support member including bearingmeans secured to said support member for cooperation with said thirdguide strip; and wherein said first, second, and third guide strips areremovably secured to said guide rail.

2. The machine of claim 1 wherein said support member includes first andsecond side walls on the inner surfaces of which are secured said firstand second bearing pads respectively, and a top wall on the innersurface of which is supported said bearing means.

3. The machine of claim 2 wherein said bearing pads each include a lipportion which engages an undersurface of a respective guide strip;thereby preventing said support member from lifting during operation ofsaid work application means.

4. A machine for performing an operation on a work piece passingtherethrough, said machine comprising: a work surface for supportingsaid work piece as it passes through said machine; advancing means foradvancing said work piece in a first direction of travel through saidmachine; work application means for performing said operation on saidwork piece; and 'moving means spaced from said work surface forselectively moving said work application means in a seconddirectiontransverse to said first direction of travel; said moving meanscomprising:

a guide rail supported above said work surface; first and second guidestrips secured to said guide rail on opposite sides thereof; a travelingsupport member, said work application means carried by-said supportmember, said support member including first and second bearing padssecured thereto which are guidingly engaged by said first and secondguide strips respectively; and driving means for causing said supportmember to travel along said guide rail; and further including a thirdguide strip secured to said guide rail along a top surface thereof; saidsupport member including bearing means secured to said support memberfor cooperation with said third guide strip; and wherein said supportmember includes first and second side walls on the inner surfaces ofwhich are secured said first and second bearing pads respectively, and atop wall on the inner surface of which is supported said bearing means;and wherein said bearing pads each include a lip portion which engagesan undersurface of a respective guide strip; thereby preventing saidsupport member from lifting during operation of said work applicationmeans; and wherein said bearing means includes:

a pair of bearing blocks secured to the undersurface of said top wall;

an elongated bearing rotatably supported at its ends in said bearingblocks, said bearing rolling along said third guide strip as saidsupport member travels along said guide rail.

5. The machine of claim 4 wherein said bearing includes a pair ofenlarged diameter flanges spaced apart by a distance corresponding tothe width of said third guide strip; whereby lateral movement of saidsupport member is prevented.

6. A machine for performing an operation on a work piecepassingtherethrough, said machine comprising:

a work surface for supporting said work piece as it passes through saidmachine;

advancing means for advancing said work piece in a t'ust direction oftravel through said machine;

work application means for performing said operation on said work piece;and

moving means spaced from said work surface for selectively moving saidwork application means in a second direction transverse to said firstdirection of travel;

said moving means comprising: 7

a guide rail supported above said work surface; first and second guidestrips secured to said guide rail on opposite sides thereof;

a traveling support member, said work application means carried by saidsupport member, said support member including first and second bearingpads secured thereto which are guidingly engaged by said first andsecond guide strips respectively; and

driving means for causing said support member to travel along said guiderail; and further including a third guide strip secured to said guiderail along a top surface thereof; said support member including bearingmeans secured to said member for cooperation with said third guidestrip; and wherein said support member includes first and second sidewalls on the inner surfaces of which are secured said first and secondbearing pads respectively, and amp wall on the inner surface of which issupported said bearing means; and wherein said bearing means includes:

a pair of bearing blocks secured to the undersurface of said top wall;

an elongated bearing rotatably supported at its ends in said bearingblocks, said bearing rolling along said third guide strip as saidsupport member travels along said guide rail; and wherein said bearingincludes a pair of enlarged diametered flanges spaced apart by adistance corresponding to the width of said third guide strip wherebylateral movement of said supportmember is prevented.

7. The machine of claim 5 wherein said bearing blocks are removablysecured to said support member and said guide strips are removablysecured to said guide rail.

1. A machine for performing an operation on a work piece passingtherethrough, said machine comprising: a work surface for supportingsaid work piece as it passes through said machine; advancing means foradvancing said work piece in a first direction of travel through saidmachine; work application means for performing said operation on saidwork piece; and moving means spaced from said work surface forselectively moving said work application means in a second directiontransverse to said first direction of travel; said moving meanscomprising: a guide rail supported above said work surface; first andsecond guide strips secured to said guide rail on opposite sidesthereof; a traveling support member, said work application means carriedby said support member, said support member including first and secondbearing pads secured thereto which are guidingly engaged by said firStand second guide strips respectively; and driving means for causing saidsupport member to travel along said guide rail; and further including athird guide strip secured to said guide rail along a top surfacethereof; said support member including bearing means secured to saidsupport member for cooperation with said third guide strip; and whereinsaid first, second, and third guide strips are removably secured to saidguide rail.
 2. The machine of claim 1 wherein said support memberincludes first and second side walls on the inner surfaces of which aresecured said first and second bearing pads respectively, and a top wallon the inner surface of which is supported said bearing means.
 3. Themachine of claim 2 wherein said bearing pads each include a lip portionwhich engages an undersurface of a respective guide strip; therebypreventing said support member from lifting during operation of saidwork application means.
 4. A machine for performing an operation on awork piece passing therethrough, said machine comprising: a work surfacefor supporting said work piece as it passes through said machine;advancing means for advancing said work piece in a first direction oftravel through said machine; work application means for performing saidoperation on said work piece; and moving means spaced from said worksurface for selectively moving said work application means in a seconddirection transverse to said first direction of travel; said movingmeans comprising: a guide rail supported above said work surface; firstand second guide strips secured to said guide rail on opposite sidesthereof; a traveling support member, said work application means carriedby said support member, said support member including first and secondbearing pads secured thereto which are guidingly engaged by said firstand second guide strips respectively; and driving means for causing saidsupport member to travel along said guide rail; and further including athird guide strip secured to said guide rail along a top surfacethereof; said support member including bearing means secured to saidsupport member for cooperation with said third guide strip; and whereinsaid support member includes first and second side walls on the innersurfaces of which are secured said first and second bearing padsrespectively, and a top wall on the inner surface of which is supportedsaid bearing means; and wherein said bearing pads each include a lipportion which engages an undersurface of a respective guide strip;thereby preventing said support member from lifting during operation ofsaid work application means; and wherein said bearing means includes: apair of bearing blocks secured to the undersurface of said top wall; anelongated bearing rotatably supported at its ends in said bearingblocks, said bearing rolling along said third guide strip as saidsupport member travels along said guide rail.
 5. The machine of claim 4wherein said bearing includes a pair of enlarged diameter flanges spacedapart by a distance corresponding to the width of said third guidestrip; whereby lateral movement of said support member is prevented. 6.A machine for performing an operation on a work piece passingtherethrough, said machine comprising: a work surface for supportingsaid work piece as it passes through said machine; advancing means foradvancing said work piece in a first direction of travel through saidmachine; work application means for performing said operation on saidwork piece; and moving means spaced from said work surface forselectively moving said work application means in a second directiontransverse to said first direction of travel; said moving meanscomprising: a guide rail supported above said work surface; first andsecond guide strips secured to said guide rail on opposite sidesthereof; a traveling support member, said work application means carriedby said support member, sAid support member including first and secondbearing pads secured thereto which are guidingly engaged by said firstand second guide strips respectively; and driving means for causing saidsupport member to travel along said guide rail; and further including athird guide strip secured to said guide rail along a top surfacethereof; said support member including bearing means secured to saidmember for cooperation with said third guide strip; and wherein saidsupport member includes first and second side walls on the innersurfaces of which are secured said first and second bearing padsrespectively, and a top wall on the inner surface of which is supportedsaid bearing means; and wherein said bearing means includes: a pair ofbearing blocks secured to the undersurface of said top wall; anelongated bearing rotatably supported at its ends in said bearingblocks, said bearing rolling along said third guide strip as saidsupport member travels along said guide rail; and wherein said bearingincludes a pair of enlarged diametered flanges spaced apart by adistance corresponding to the width of said third guide strip wherebylateral movement of said support member is prevented.
 7. The machine ofclaim 5 wherein said bearing blocks are removably secured to saidsupport member and said guide strips are removably secured to said guiderail.